NI Enters Manual Lab Bench Instrument Market

National Instruments has been a player in measurement automation since the 1970s. With today’s announcement of NI VirtualBench, it's now also aiming squarely at manual lab bench users.

Whoa! How does a company that avoids equipment with knobs, dials, and displays enter a market that has been nearly defined by the presence of said components? If you are asking yourself this question, then perhaps you missed the debate I ignited a few months ago when I asked: "Does test equipment really need knobs and displays?"

I had the pleasure of discussing the VirtualBench introduction with Chris Delvizis, senior product manager for NI. Referring to my column, Chris said that NI had a categorical answer to that question: "The answer is no."

Well then, let’s see what this VirtualBench thing is all about...

NI VirtualBench is shown in the graphic above, along with the interactive display on an iPad. Users may also interact with Virtual Bench via a PC.

@KrEn1 Try $ 2000, nearly. This I got from the EDN link at the bottom of this article. I'll repeat the comment I left there:

This is VERY nice compared to the Mydaq that I already have - the MyDaq is mainly intended for teaching and is woefully inadequate for any serious work. But it is only $99. There is the Analog Discovery which is similar but with much more useful specs at around the same price. Much as I would love one of these, I can't afford nearly $2K :-((